Transcript

A Cook Islands government official claims the stalled Te Mato Vai water project on Rarotonga is not due to a lack of consultation.

Te Mato Vai is intended to provide treated water for the people of Rarotonga, but it has faced a series of delays.

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Management's Garth Henderson says it is stalled right now because of impending legal action by the landowners unhappy their land is being bulldozed.

He spoke to Lucy Smith about the delays and the progress made.

Garth Henderson: Well there's two phases - phase one and phase two. I think that's the project in it's entirety at this stage and time.

Lucy Smith: Once you reach the end of stage two you'll be finished and everyone in Rarotonga will be able to get clean water?

Garth Henderson: Yes everybody, everybody connected to the water network now will have access to that water that is the intention.

Lucy Smith: When do you think stage two will be complete?

Garth Henderson: We have some land access problems now.It's going to take two years once it starts. Resolving the land access issues it's really reliant upon some objection hearings in the high court which need to be called. Once there is a court determination we can start phase two. Part of the process of going on to land to do all that work we need to advise land owners, we've had some land owners object to us going on the land and they have a rights to have their objections being heard in the court and that's what's holding us up at this point in time.

Lucy Smith: What sort of consultation did you have with those land owners?

Garth Henderson: We've been consulting with the land owners since early last year. A rough count we've got 5 thousand land owners on intake lands 65 percent of those live overseas so our ability to consult with everybody has been really difficult. Certainly not a case of not consulting.